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[Childeric]

Hello there,

Let me introduce myself here as it's my first post (but sadly for you, probably not the last one). I'm a 36 years old French guy, currently unemployed and looking for a job either as a computer technician (we're starting a small business around that, web design and a few other services with my boyfriend, hope it'll work) or as a lyric baritone singer.

I'm really new to dwarf fortress and came here after playing a lot to Gnomoria and a few to Rimworld, both in development and it seems they are both based on DF game mechanics. Here's my current questions :

1. Which version of the game I should play:

• The older one (34.11) with the Masterworks bundle (6.2)?
• The newest one with the Lazy pack (40.23)?
• The latest one (40.24) without any utility or mod?

2. I went into some troubles with graphical tilesets with some glitches with the "standard" mode where the menu font is far too big (and squared). I found that 2 mode + True Type fonts seems to be the smoothest and most enjoyable config. But maybe you have some suggestion there. Which are the best parameters for Tileset/Font/Graphical mode?

3. I watched a few vid on YouTube and read a bit of the Wiki and other resources here on the forum but I still a bit lost in this game. Is there a particularly recommended post? Maybe using an oldest and less complex version of DF?

I'll stop here, I've a lot of questions but quite a few will find an answer as soon as I'll have really started playing this game.

Thank you for your help and please feel free to correct any spelling/grammar issue there as English isn't my mother language.

Kind Regards.

[Arcvasti]

Play 34.11 unmodded with DFhack installed first if you plan to play Masterwork or any of the other mods that haven't updated to 40.xx yes. Otherwise, play 40.xx. Its pretty disorienting switching from 34.11 to 40.xx, mainly because a few important keys got moved around. Definitely don't start playing any mods, the game can get complicated enough WITHOUT approximately a metric fuckton of stuff spliced in. I never liked the Lazy Noob Pack, personally.

I found this immensely helpful.

DFhack mostly just lets you manage labours more easily without having to tab out like therapist does. You can also use it for cheating, which could be a useful crutch starting out if used in moderation.

[vjmdhzgr]

Newest version of Dwarf Fortress. I'd recommend you download a graphics set if you're new, Phoebus is the one that updates most frequently. The main reason for this is one of the bug fixes in the newest version "Fixed problem causing dwarves to sometimes fail to attack monsters/invaders", "Stopped certain inaccessible jobs from blocking lower priority ones", and "Stopped dwarf from stressing out over the same wound forever". All of those are very major bugs that you probably don't want. Also playing standard Dwarf Fortress will help you not be reliant on Dwarf Therapist and other things in the Lazy Newb Pack. I've actually seen people who have played the game for a long time and don't even know how to set labors without Dwarf Therapist, which is just sad.

[dorf]

Welcome!

When I started playing, I had the vanilla DF and the quickstart wiki page opened at the same time.
I've also fiddled with the settings to my liking (mainly to use a larger vanilla ascii tileset). If you're more comfortable using a graphical tileset, then install that. The most frequently updated ones are your best bet!

I recommend the The latest one (40.24) without any utility or mod option, if you're savvy enough to configure DF the way you want.
Otherwise go with The newest one with the Lazy pack (40.23) option, since it's easier to set up!

Masterwork and DFHack are unnecessary and may be too complicated for you to use at this point.

[Childeric]

Thank you for your answers. I'll then make a choice and jump into the game Thank you.

[FallenAngel]

I advise starting with the latest version; it's best to not rely on third-party programs until you've already learned a lot.
Wait to mod your game until you know a ton about the vanilla game - as was said, it's easiest to learn without a bunch of extra stuff.

[Naryar]

Latest version, and get Dwarf Therapist and DFhack as soon as you can.

Also you need to read the wiki. You don't really need anything else to play dwarf fortress.

If you want a good introduction to Dwarf Fortress culture, well... read this : http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/

[Rokh]

Also watch some tutorials on Youtube. They helped me quite a bit. There was a particularly good tutorial series but I forget the guy's name Although now that I think about it some tutorials are probably outdated...

[miauw62]

I'd say that the latest version of the Starter Pack is best, since some of the utilities are very very useful for newbies (mainly Therapist, but DFHack is rather essential too, albeit less so for new people). Update as soon as the starter pack updates.

[Dwarf4Explosives]

I would recommend just using the Starter Pack/Lazy Newb Pack for the ease of installing and setting graphics. It also allows you to change the maximum population (and the proportion of that that is children) and lets you turn cave-ins and invaders off if you want.

[StupidElves]

Really, it all depends on how you want to play the game. I started I think two years ago, and I've never felt the need to use DF Hack or Dwarf Therapist. Dwarf Therapist does help with some of the micromanaging, but you can just as easily learn without that. I personally don't recommend using tilesets, as if you install a mod, then there won't be a pretty little picture for the modded in creatures. But, really, it is all up to how you want to play.

[TheDarkStar]

I recommend 0.40.24 with no mods or texture packs for the experience.

[dwarf_reform]

I'd personally be cautious about watching or reading too much, overall Not sure if its just me, but I can devalue a game pretty badly by skimming through LPs, guides, screenshots..

Just dive in; that you care this much thus far means you'll end up a seasoned DF player, will pick up what you need to know along the way (including they "why and for what??" of using dfhack.. and those first forts are usually the most memorable :>

I'm no expert, but I'm inclined to think that the "best" fort is never the most "fun" fort And its fun to lose, especially under the knowledge that you can move in "heavy muscle" like savescumming and dfhack at a later date when you want to guarantee long life to a fort :>

I think you've heard the siren song, though, and there isn't another game out there that scratches the unique itches that DF can scratch :> You'll be called back, again and again.. for life..

[dorf]

Damn, why isn't there a "like" button for posts?